There are two men that I know who cling to God in every circumstance.  Life has been difficult for both of them.  I have been thinking of them lately. The shift in my life because of cancer was dramatic.  Thinking of life and death issues forces you to a place of sober reflection.  It is a hard place to be.  My friends both know that.  Each of them has been suffering from a deadly disease for years.  I cannot comprehend that really.  My illness was a nuisance for several months…really about a year.  To live with pain and the promise of death hanging over you cannot be easy in any way.  Ongoing hardship is the fire in which character is built.  How can anyone stay in that kind of fire for so long?  Like Job’s friends, I think that it would be easy to curse God and die rather than to continually battle for each breath.  Yet like Job, these men believe the words, “though he slay me, yet I will trust him.” 

My friend Brian has a heart condition.  I do not know the specific details other than that he should have been dead years ago.  He has been “resurrected” too many times to count.  He can tell you what it feels like to be in the presence of Jesus, because he has been there.  His attitude could have been bitter to have been dealt this ailment at such an early age.  He chose the positive instead.  Not knowing the future causes us stress, but to not know if you will be alive tomorrow?  That is a completely new level of trusting God for each breath.  Brian has lived with that question each day, for years.  Until recently, he was not a candidate for a heart transplant…but technology caught up with him.  Yesterday he had a heart transplant.  Today I heard that it is beating on its own.  What a miracle that is!  Imagine being shut up in your house for years, and suddenly being able to live a normal life.  What a gift that will be!  My prayers are with him and his wife as they embark upon this new journey of health.

My other friend has ALS…a terrible degenerative disease takes over your body slowly.  Frank is in a wheelchair now, with a breathing machine. (By the way Frank, you kind of look like a jet pilot! 🙂  He has to have help to do most everything.  He could choose to rage at God, but instead he worships him.  A worship leader that lost his ability to play but still he leads worship…with his life.  He creates worship CD’s with Christian music he picks custom for those of us that are in need.  I listened to these CD’s during my chemo.  He knows just the right songs for tough times.  Even with his limited ability, he has found a way to create worship. 

These two men are amazing.  They have chosen to live fully despite the suffering.  Depending on God to carry them is the source of their strength.  They cannot be stopped from reaching out to others in need.  It is the mark of Christ that is indelibly stamped in their hearts.  When I complain about work, I need only to think of my friends.  God smiles when he sees their lives, because they remind the rest of us what is important. They point us to him. You guys are a blessing!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend.  I haven’t even turned on my computer this weekend…it was a nice break. 

On Labor Day each year, our church has a kind of festival in the park.  Cars of all makes and models fill the parking lot for the annual car show.  There are inflatable games and slides, a climbing wall, and a multitude of vendors selling food for their organizations.  Bands perform, along with a choir made up of members of area churches and the pastor gives a short message just before the fireworks show.  It is a wonderful way to spend the holiday.  Each year more and more people from the community attend.  This year was no exception.  The crowd grew more as each hour passed. 

In the midst of the crowd I saw a beautiful thing, unexpected in such a mass of people.  An older couple from our church in their mid to late 80’s, was strolling across the parking lot hand in hand.  I do not exactly know why that sight so caught my eye, but it did.  I watched them, holding hands like two teenagers in love.  They were in no hurry.  The companionship and comfortableness of the relationship was evident for all who happened to notice them.  They talked to one another as if they were the only two people around.  The smiles reached to their eyes with a twinkle, which showed that even after spending a lifetime together, they were deeply in love. It was obvious that they had a deep and intimate knowing of each other...joined by their love for the Lord.  It was refreshing to see.  It lifted my spirit to see such love shining forth. Contentment radiated. 

I happen to know this couple.  I know some of their life story and a few of the hardships they have faced.  It is a testimony of the power of love.  Each year, since I was the preschool director at our church, the woman has taken my hands in hers, looked me in the eyes and sung the birthday song to me. The ever-present twinkle in her eye sparks to life as she sings.  She just radiates the love of God.  Her positive attitude is catching and she spreads joy wherever she goes.  To watch her husband hold her hand with tender affection well into their eighties was such a blessing to me.  It was a beautiful picture of a lifetime romance that touched my heart.